A second revised edition of this volume in the GRADUATE SERIES IN ASTRONOMY originally published in 1980 by Manchester University Press, which considers the physics of the interstellar medium including gas dynamics, properties of dust grains and star formation.

Suitable for final year undergraduates and graduate students studying astronomy or astrophyics, this volume explores the physics of many interesting situations in the interstellar medium, assuming a knowledge possessed by university physics students. In addition, prospective research students and scientists in related fields will find the discussion of the astronomical environment and the effect of the interstellar medium on galactic evolution of interest.

How we obtain information about the interstellar medium
microscopic processes in the interstellar medium
interstellar grains
radiatively excited regions
introduction to gas dynamics
gas dynamical processes in interstellar space
our present picture of the interstellar gas and star formation
answers to problems.